Gen Z suffers from 'menu anxiety' while dining out, study finds. What is it?

According to a study conducted by British restaurant chain Prezzo, a majority of young people reported that they suffer “menu anxiety” while eating in a public setting, New York Post reported.

The research involved 2,000 people who were asked about how they felt while eating out. It was concluded that 87 percent of Gen Z adults (aged 18 to 24) suffer from “menu anxiety” as compared to 67 percent of all respondents.

Some of these young adults (34 percent) feel anxious while ordering so they ask other people at the table to do it for them. “[While] most people look forward to dining out during the [holiday] season, we know — as our research shows — it can be stressful for some,” Dean Challenger, CEO of Prezzo, told New York Post in a statement.

The fear or anxiety is triggered by the exorbitant prices of food outside, not getting anything they like on the menu or regretting after ordering something.

40 percent of Gen Z customers even said that they won’t go out for a meal unless they have checked the full menu beforehand.

A similar study conducted in the US found that three in 10 Americans suffer from “menu anxiety” with Gen Z customers being more nervous than older generations.

As per the report by the news outlet, 41 percent of Gen Z and millennials (aged 18-43) suffer from anxiety while ordering as compared to only 15 percent of Gen X (aged 44-77).

Gen Z adults have also reported higher levels of general anxiety even during enjoyable activities like travelling and dining out, New York Post mentioned. Gabriel Rubin, Professor of Justice Studies at Montclair State University, recently released a study reporting that Gen Z is more afraid of the world than previous generations.

“They are digital natives but, between COVID and other factors, they have missed out on important in-person social skills,” Rubin told New York Post. “Because so many Gen Zers are anxious and because so many have trouble in non-digital social spaces, even activities as simple as ordering food sometimes become things to be avoided.”